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Ypsilanti City Council members skeptical of public surveillance cameras

securitycams.jpg

Ypsilanti Township has installed several public surveillance cameras over the past year, such as the one pictured here. City of Ypsilanti council members said they are skeptical of having public cameras.
(File photo)

Several high-profile crimes in the Leforge Road corridor have prompted Ypsilanti to consider ways to make the city safer, including public surveillance cameras.

However, several Ypsilanti City Council members said they are skeptical of whether the cameras actually deter or prevent crime.

City Manager Ralph Lange asked council members Tuesday whether they would be interested in exploring the feasibility of a pilot surveillance program. Two council members, Ricky Jefferson and Daniel Vogt, said yes, but the rest said no.

Mayor Paul Schreiber said he would be interested only if the city were able to find a partner to lead the way and contribute financially to the project.

"I’m not interested in the city going out and doing it all by themselves," Schreiber said. "I’m also skeptical of cameras. Until we have partners that are very interested and energized to lead the way and possibly provide funding, I think we have other things to worry about."

Lange said the city or police would pick an area, like Leforge, that has a large amount of issues or crime.

"(It would be) any area that police thought needed extra coverage that wasn't already being covered by the apartments," Lange said. "I don't want to put a lot of staff time into doing a policy if city council has no interest in it."

Police Chief Tony DeGiusti said on Wednesday that he's had several conversations regarding cameras, but nothing concrete has been decided upon. However, DeGiusti said the police department supports public cameras, but he doubts he would have the staffing to monitor them.

"What I can tell you is that the police department is supportive of cameras and we feel that although they may not be much of a deterrent, they certainly are a very good investigative tool," DeGiusti said. "In the event that the city installs cameras in the future I do not foresee having the staffing to actually monitor them. In addition, the storage of data, who has access, how long it is kept and what the information can be used for are all issues that will need to be resolved as a matter of policy.

Council Member Brian Robb said he's not interested in the pilot program.

"You didn’t even sell us on how this would be managed," Robb said. "Is someone going to sit there or are we just going to record this? To ask us how we feel on this without giving any kind of detail doesn’t make much sense.

"If you had cameras in a public area, how would the police handle that? If you don’t know that answer, determine that, then come back and ask us how we feel about cameras."

Lange said he's aware that cameras are a "sensitive item" and the city would do its due diligence to ensure the cameras wouldn't infringe upon anyone's rights.

"We would have to talk to the ACLU," Lange said. "I know that this fails if we don’t do that kind of thing. We would do it in a trial or confined area that would benefit from this kind of surveillance. How it’s stored and the rest of stuff, even how it's paid for, there are a lot of different options."

DeGiusti said he's working with private property owners in the LeForge Road area and in the downtown district regarding cameras they are installing. DeGiusti said the police department would have access to them if needed.

Two other communities within Washtenaw County have already taken steps to install cameras. The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees recently discussed expanding its public surveillance camera program.

The cameras are installed in the West Willow area, Harris Park and near a pedestrian bridge that crosses over Interstate 94 between Rosewood Street to the north and Gault Village to the south.

Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo said the cameras an effective tool for investigating crimes. In May 2012, the images provided by the cameras directly led to the arrest of a man accused of sexually assaulting several minors in the West Willow neighborhood.

"I’m skeptical of cameras," said Council Member Pete Murdock. "I’m not necessarily against them, but the literature doesn’t give a lot of evidence they’re effective in crime prevention. People in the private sector can do whatever the hell they want with that info but I don’t know if we should get in the game at the same level. There are several reports from the Justice Department in terms of effectiveness. There’s information out there to chew on."

Katrease Stafford covers Ypsilanti for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at KatreaseStafford@mlive.com or 734-623-2548 and follow her on Twitter.